Spectrum Scientifics Blog

If you read a few science articles or chat with some folks who are science lovers and grew up in the 50s and 60s, you might occasionally hear laments about the loss of interesting, fun and potentially lethal chemistry sets yesteryear once had in abundance. Some complain bitterly about the changes while others look back fondly but realize this is a different era.

Chemistry sets were the brainchild of the famous toy developer A.C. Gilbert, who also invented the Erector Set, and perhaps dozens of other toys that were a requirement of childhood in years past. Imitators soon followed, and for a time there were perhaps a dozen or more different chemistry sets to choose from. Many modern scientists today will speak fondly of his or her first chemistry set and how it inspired them to their future careers.

In addition to huge diversity of product, the chemistry sets of those years also came with danger, an attractive characteristic for any toy! To hear the claims of some of their users, one could produce deadly toxic gases, make TNT and in at least one story, blew up their garage walls with hydrogen gas. To hear some tell it, the area where an original chemistry set was used must have resembled the no-man’s land between trench lines in World War 1: full of deadly poison gas and craters left from massive explosions. However, one must take some of these stories with a grain of salt since those who tell these tales obviously survived.

Still, even through the hyperbole there was far more than enough to make a liability lawyer turn white as a sheet. The average set would contain glass bottles and test tubes (glassware may be found in modern sets, but most of the chemicals are often stored in break-proof plastic containers), a burner (a rarity in modern sets), several chemicals for producing gases and several more chemicals for making attractive clock and color changes (which usually meant mercuric or other dangerous chemicals). Goggles would be provided, as well as proper handling instructions but it was assumed that no horseplay or deviation from the written instructions would take place with the sets. Even before this modern age of creative play, this was a dangerous assumption.

The chemistry sets of that era are long gone. Most of the blame is put on liability lawyers suing the chemistry set companies out of existence. But in fact, they are only partly to blame.

For one thing, there were far too many chemistry sets in production. This worked for a while, as the Baby Boomer generation moved through its childhood in the 50s & early 60s there would naturally be a great demand for such sets as a way for children to amuse themselves and learn. But as they aged out of the chemistry set years, the demand for sets dropped as the number of children of appropriate ages dropped drastically. In addition, the rise of TV’s popularity meant that there was competition for kids’ time and attention.

The final nail in the classic chemistry set’s coffin was when the Baby Boomer generation had their own kids. As a generation the Baby Boomers had a much greater desire for children’s safety than previous ones. Child safety seats, bike helmets, and baby monitors became the order of the day. The idea of dangerous toys that might burn or potentially poison were definitely out. The chemistry sets that had survived through the 70s still had a few of their previous generations elements (For example, the ‘Mr. Wizard Chemistry Lab Set ‘ from 1975 had an alcohol burner and glass labware), but gone were the gas production experiments, smoke producing experiments, and colorful, but dangerous, clock experiments.

Even so, a few sets retained some elements of years past: A 1980s kit shows glass test tubes and an alcohol burner but the chemicals are few and far between and the copy emphasizes its safety. The kits were also surprisingly pricey: a rather skeletal kit with ‘250 experiments’ sold in 1985 went for $99.95; almost $200 in 2008 dollars. While this may not be as much as the highest end Chemistry Sets available today, the modern one certainly offers a lot more than the meager and uninspired 80’s set.

Chemistry sets went into hibernation. Sets existed just enough to satisfy the parents and kids who wanted them. But the kits themselves were uninspiring. One kit had kids adding salt, gram by gram, to a plastic beaker full of water until no more could be dissolved as a demonstration of saturation. This is not exactly the stuff exciting childhood memories are made of.

Late in the 90s, a few things began to change. First, some small vendors began to produce their own small chemistry kits. These kits were specialized, focusing on a few critical but interesting experiments. Universe of Science, for example, found they could produce excellent, low-cost mini-chemistry kits in small no-frills plastic tubs that were better than anything on the market at the time. Soon other companies found that while they might not want to make the general chemistry set of yesteryear, they could make specialized kits that made rubber superballs, fizzing chemicals and even soap. The specialized products even allowed them to target markets that might otherwise not have much interest in traditional chemistry sets.

But what of the basic chemistry set? The rescue from its doldrums would come from the science education company Thames and Kosmos. T&K recognized the need for effective chemistry sets and soon developed the C500, C1000, C2000 and C3000 chemistry sets. T&K didn’t try to cheapen the experience with boring experiments. They resurrected the best experiments of the golden age that could be safely handled, then added new experiments that had been developed by modern chemistry. Their bigger chemistry sets even contain burners and glass labware. The result is the most impressive line of chemistry sets on the market today. The Thames and Kosmos kits might not be the same as the classic Gilbert sets of old but they are as close as you can get. At least with the T&K sets, along with the specialized kits, a child can once again experience the awe and wonder that scientists who grew up in the original chemistry set era once felt.

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Filed under: Chemistry